Infusion devices are used throughout many industries to infuse a substance into a target site. One particular industry implementing infusion devices to deliver substances is veterinary medicine. For example, multiple infusion devices may be used during a so-called “dry cow program” to successively infuse substances into the udder of a cow so as to treat, control or otherwise limit the onset of bovine mastitis, i.e., the inflammation of udder tissue in cows. In such instances, a typical treatment (a so-called “dry-off procedure”) may include infusing multiple substances in succession into the teat canal of a cow, with each substance being infused using its own separate infusion device.
For example, an antimicrobial substance is first infused into the udder using a first infusion device, which is followed by a teat sealant substance being infused into the udder using a second infusion device. Between infusions, a worker must disinfect the cow teat, grab the second infusion device, and insert the second infusion device into the teat canal. Implementing two separate insertion steps into the teat canal can lead to potential issues with contamination between substance insertion if not administered properly. In this regard, the dry-off procedure is time-consuming and administratively difficult since disinfection and cleanliness are paramount.
Previous sequential delivery devices for treating bovine mastitis are single-formed devices. That is, the devices are not capable of being separated to discretely administer the antimicrobial and teat sealant substances. Such single-formed devices can present issues with regard to sterilization of the substances. In this regard, sterilization of the substances may occur after the substances have been incorporated into the devices. Sterilization of the teat sealant substance may be performed at much higher gamma radiations levels than that of the antimicrobial. In a single-formed device, such sterilization at levels necessary to sterilize the teat sealant may undesirably render the antimicrobial substance inactive.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an infusion assembly capable of administering multiple substances into the cow teat following a single insertion into the teat canal, so as to lessen the chance of contamination. Such an assembly may desirably allow a worker to administer both the antimicrobial and teat sealant substances more efficiently by skipping difficult and time-consuming steps. Such an assembly may also be capable of facilitating individual use for each substance such that previous dry-off procedures could be practiced, if desired, which would also allow for individual sterilization of the substances. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide an associated method of sequentially delivering substances into a target site using an infusion assembly.